actually this isn't correct as far as these plans go.
you get both "yes time" and "free for 5" on these cap plans.
Click for full size - Uploaded with plasq's Skitch
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Optus Announces iPhone 3G Pricing in Australia
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actually this isn't correct as far as these plans go.
you get both "yes time" and "free for 5" on these cap plans.
Click for full size - Uploaded with plasq's Skitch
For those who haven't done the math:
Cheapest 24month price for 16GB:
$1032 for the $19 Yes plan, followed by $1080 for the $19 Cap plan
Sweet spots are the $49 cap at $1464, $59 cap at $1584, the $39 Yes at $1224, $49 yes at $1464 and $59 yes at $1584.
If you ever do significantly exceed your data a few times, you'll surely wish you went up a level from 250MB to 500MB, but I don't have a feel how hard it will be to exceed these numbers.
Cheapest 24month price for 16GB:
$1032 for the $19 Yes plan, followed by $1080 for the $19 Cap plan
Sweet spots are the $49 cap at $1464, $59 cap at $1584, the $39 Yes at $1224, $49 yes at $1464 and $59 yes at $1584.
If you ever do significantly exceed your data a few times, you'll surely wish you went up a level from 250MB to 500MB, but I don't have a feel how hard it will be to exceed these numbers.
What, the original that could not be purchased at all in Australia, outright or otherwise, and thus had no Australian pricing standard, just a bunch of ppl bringing in hacked up phones with no guarantee of upgradability?
Yep, much more expensive.
You're ultimately paying much more than that by paying it off in instalments or through your contract. Telstra's minimum total cost is $999, rising to $2400. $800-odd doesn't look so bad does it?
Oh, my bad, so I would pick the $39 cap and the 16gb phone for a total of $51 a month for 24 months , don't pay when talking to my wife on her phone, and 500MB downloads (must remember to only access youtube on wifi). sweet.
One other thing which isn't clear is what would happen if you wanted to change plans. Unless there is some easy way to change, another reason to go for a higher plan. A $10 higher plan really only costs $5 because it reduces the phone repayments by $5.
Plan ahead to save data costs and choose a good voice plan
Try focussing on a good voice plan for your needs - be careful of the flagfall as many mobile calls are short so these can add to the cost quite quickly. Many cap plans include a large value of calls but the call price may be a lot higher than the post paid plans.
Then look at the data to see if there is enough included in the plan. Many people have WiFi at home and/or work so will not need to use their 3G/2G data allocation there. So you may find you only need the data whilst travelling or out "in the field". Do not forget that your data usage may well be higher in the first month or so while the novelty wears off.
Optus WiFi hotspots are limited but do cover airports, Telstra's are better. Check your ISP to see if they offer any cheap ones in your existing plan.
Take care with the 3G issue. The current model 3G iPhone is only compatible with the Optus/Vodafone 3G networks where they share the network in metro areas. The national 3G coverage (i.e. non metro) planned by Optus is not compatible with the iPhone yet so 2G (GPRS non EDGE) will be used here. Telstra 3G (NextG) is national.
For our American readers the plans are complex and are designed that way to prevent direct comparison with the other carriers. Aussies have 14 years of experience in this minefield and still get it wrong quite frequently.
Try focussing on a good voice plan for your needs - be careful of the flagfall as many mobile calls are short so these can add to the cost quite quickly. Many cap plans include a large value of calls but the call price may be a lot higher than the post paid plans.
Then look at the data to see if there is enough included in the plan. Many people have WiFi at home and/or work so will not need to use their 3G/2G data allocation there. So you may find you only need the data whilst travelling or out "in the field". Do not forget that your data usage may well be higher in the first month or so while the novelty wears off.
Optus WiFi hotspots are limited but do cover airports, Telstra's are better. Check your ISP to see if they offer any cheap ones in your existing plan.
Take care with the 3G issue. The current model 3G iPhone is only compatible with the Optus/Vodafone 3G networks where they share the network in metro areas. The national 3G coverage (i.e. non metro) planned by Optus is not compatible with the iPhone yet so 2G (GPRS non EDGE) will be used here. Telstra 3G (NextG) is national.
For our American readers the plans are complex and are designed that way to prevent direct comparison with the other carriers. Aussies have 14 years of experience in this minefield and still get it wrong quite frequently.
These plans are confusing, but they're made much simpler if you read this informative table, in the first post on a forum at MacTalk:
http://forums.mactalk.com.au/47/52261-official-optus-pricing-information.html
Full rundown of total costs, minutes per plan, etc. Quick summary:
- The "yes" Cap plans are better if you mostly want voice
- The "yes" plans are better if you mostly want data
- The absolute cheapest total monthly price is AU$40/month over 24 months but you only get 42 minutes of calls and 100MB of data
- The cheapest way to own an iPhone outright is to buy prepaid ($729) then buy a $30 recharge followed by a $50 recharge (you need to recharge $80 to get free unlocking or pay that much instead) and since you get bonus credit and data in your first month (plus unlimited data until the end of August) you might as well use it.
- It's possible to go on a long-term low-end plan for very slightly more than the outright price but you'll likely need more than the minutes included (13/month).
- Australians (and Europeans) don't pay for incoming calls, so these "minutes" are for outgoing calls only.
As others have mentioned, the iPhone is on most of the networks. However, there are several resellers (eg. Virgin, who use the Optus network) who aren't selling the iPhone but have decent data deals (1GB for $15) so there is an argument for unlocking a prepaid handset.
Vodafone are yet to release pricing but I'd suspect them to be similar; perhaps cheaper as they have no Wi-Fi network to bundle in.
Telstra have released price points ($30, $80, $100 plans + $279 to $0 cost) + but no information on included data or call rates; their existing deals at $30 and $80 include 5MB or 10MB of data and it remains to be seen if that will change for the iPhone.
Hope that helps.
http://forums.mactalk.com.au/47/52261-official-optus-pricing-information.html
Full rundown of total costs, minutes per plan, etc. Quick summary:
- The "yes" Cap plans are better if you mostly want voice
- The "yes" plans are better if you mostly want data
- The absolute cheapest total monthly price is AU$40/month over 24 months but you only get 42 minutes of calls and 100MB of data
- The cheapest way to own an iPhone outright is to buy prepaid ($729) then buy a $30 recharge followed by a $50 recharge (you need to recharge $80 to get free unlocking or pay that much instead) and since you get bonus credit and data in your first month (plus unlimited data until the end of August) you might as well use it.
- It's possible to go on a long-term low-end plan for very slightly more than the outright price but you'll likely need more than the minutes included (13/month).
- Australians (and Europeans) don't pay for incoming calls, so these "minutes" are for outgoing calls only.
As others have mentioned, the iPhone is on most of the networks. However, there are several resellers (eg. Virgin, who use the Optus network) who aren't selling the iPhone but have decent data deals (1GB for $15) so there is an argument for unlocking a prepaid handset.
Vodafone are yet to release pricing but I'd suspect them to be similar; perhaps cheaper as they have no Wi-Fi network to bundle in.
Telstra have released price points ($30, $80, $100 plans + $279 to $0 cost) + but no information on included data or call rates; their existing deals at $30 and $80 include 5MB or 10MB of data and it remains to be seen if that will change for the iPhone.
Hope that helps.
actually this isn't correct as far as these plans go.
you get both "yes time" and "free for 5" on these cap plans.
Click for full size - Uploaded with plasq's Skitch
I think you are getting confused. He was talking about the 'Yes' plan...not the Cap plan. You have linked to the bonuses for the Cap plan. Quite are few people are getting them mixed up by the look of things.
The reason i'd go for the Yes plan is that it has a cheaper flagfall, more data, and cheaper call rate. And, you get the choice of a bonus option to make it even better value. Personally, i'd go the 100 free text option, as it adds $25 extra value to the plan. Also, i don't really want to fork out a min of $49 a month, for credit that i might never use. I'd prefer to go the $39 and pay $240 less overall.
If they had a $39 Cap plan, i might reconsider, but for unknown reasons, maybe lack of competition?, they choose to jump from $19 to $49.
actually this isn't correct as far as these plans go.
you get both "yes time" and "free for 5" on these cap plans.
Click for full size - Uploaded with plasq's Skitch
sorry but you might want to re-read the thread.
entropys was stating that people go for the "yes" plan so they get cheap calls between Optus mobiles, and mobiles linked to the same account.
i'm simply correcting this information/suggestion, as the "yes" cap plan also includes the "yes time" and the "free for 5" deals. (ie these benefits are not exclusive to a "yes" plan as suggested, and as the screenshot shows.)
however i do agree with you that optus could use some more originality when naming its plans. the names are too similar!
I necessarily wouldn't say it's a better deal, with the rate of $1USD to $1.04AUD, the 12mo "$19" (30min/100mb) Yes plan comes out to the same price (nearly) as the basic AT&T $69.95 (450min/Unlimited data) plan.
At the higher end, though, it is a better deal than AT&T.
This is Awesome on a $59 Cap, I get $350 worth of calls and text....500mb download and an iphone for 2 bux a month......Awesome!!!
Yes, it's a good deal.
Quite complicated plans Optus has though.
To sort it out in my head, I'm comparing it as:
$240 for a 16GB iPhone, plus $56/mth
vs
$200 for my Nokia GPS phone (I got in January) plus $49/mth
(over 24 mths)
The iPhone easily wins.
It's $40 extra upfront, and the $7 extra a month gets me
$350 of calls (instead of $300) and 500MB of data.
First off, this strategy only works if you actually have a cheap product. If you are selling your product at a negative margin, selling lots will bankrupt you before you can say "Apple is back in black." And before you say Apple has cut material costs, consider the R&D that went into the new version. A Walkman has next to no associated R&D and additionally no subsequent service plan. Plus they fall apart if you look at them wrong; but who cares because they're cheap.
Second, a lot of people seem to be blaming Apple for the "high" final prices and complex pricing schemes. These are rather due to the mobile carrier, not Apple. Just because it's an Apple product with intuitive operation doesn't mean that your bill is going to be reasonable or easy to understand.
Ahh...I misread what you wrote. I see the point you were making. Sorry for the confusion.....
Now to analyse my current phone bill and see how much im spending.
I think Steve is following the iPod strategy...sell expensive but very high quality, sell lots....
$40 for 50MB of data?! Damn I feel a little bit better for paying $30 for 5GB. (AT&T says it's "unlimited" but they do stop it at some point...)
Yes, but the problem is we KNOW how much it costs Apple to manufacture one (LESS than the original iPhone, it turns out) or about $176 a phone. Charging $800+ for a $176 to manufacture phone, even when considering development costs is highway robbery. But then that is TYPICAL for the cell phone industry. They make you THINK you're getting a deal when in actuality, they simply spread those blood draining prices across a long period of time in a contract as monthly fees, etc. and you tend not to notice you're paying so much for so little. Look at texting prices. It costs them way less than one cent to transmit a text message, yet they tend to charge you 20 cents on average to do it. Compared to other data rates they charge, they're essentially overcharging by thousands of times their costs, but they know people will pay it and so they just call it the absolute best of capitalism (for them) and that's that. People pay more for tap water in a plastic bottle than gas per ounce, though so they know we're golden for charging 20 cents to say 'what's up?' over the phone.
Like with oil, you have NO ALTERNATIVE to their specific services unless you're near a reasonable WiFi operation. So those high costs for the iPhone aren't development and manufacture costs + reasonable profit margin. Apple is asking a little over 2x their costs to the cell phone companies and they are turning around doubling it again to recoup their costs plus double their money and still have the option to sell you those prepaid services to make actual service money. The phone cost thing is purely a retail sale at over 4x the phone's manufacturing costs. Most businesses live with 5-20% profit margins and that's considered "reasonable" by most. This is more like 200% profit margins for all involved. While other industries are suffering due to high fuel costs, it's gotta be sweet to deal in sending bits over the air and reselling hot in-demand toys. But as long as people are willing to pay $800+ or sign two year contracts (where you essentially pay $600+ over two years plus the $200 price tag), they'll keep doing it.
Wow, looking at all these limited data plans around the world, finally for once am I happy about US mobile phone carriers, after all those years of European and Japanese phone envy. Not to mention the standard pricing rate between land lines and mobile lines.
no probs! things are getting confusing around here.
on an unrelated note, somethings telling me that Telstra isn't going to do any "better" than the Optus plans announced yesterday! (and for me Voda isn't really an option.)
the $59 yes cap plan looks to be a pretty good deal. i only hope that getting locked into optus for 2 years is worth it.
though they did activate thier 3g network where i live over the last 2 weeks, so thats a positive!
optus plans
Firstly, I'm sick of everyone complaining about these prices, they're cheaper than most smartphones. The $199 and $299 prices were subsidized prices and since we have the option of prepaid there was never going to be a chance of us getting them for anywhere near even the converted price of that. Although i think apple needs to look at their currency exchange rate at the moment cause as far as i know $299 * 1/.95 doesn't equal $399, sure they cant keep it constant with exchange rate but a hundred dollars up?
Im overall happy that they have introduced an expensive iphone. this means that for those of us capable of saving money it will be available on launch day. without all my fellow stupid students with their $400 expecting a decent phone (which is usually how it works in australia). And i really feel degraded now with all these aussies complaining that $829 isnt $299. get your facts straight retards. anyway im happy about these prices cause they are exactly the price range the iphone is worth if not less.
Firstly, I'm sick of everyone complaining about these prices, they're cheaper than most smartphones. The $199 and $299 prices were subsidized prices and since we have the option of prepaid there was never going to be a chance of us getting them for anywhere near even the converted price of that. Although i think apple needs to look at their currency exchange rate at the moment cause as far as i know $299 * 1/.95 doesn't equal $399, sure they cant keep it constant with exchange rate but a hundred dollars up?
Im overall happy that they have introduced an expensive iphone. this means that for those of us capable of saving money it will be available on launch day. without all my fellow stupid students with their $400 expecting a decent phone (which is usually how it works in australia). And i really feel degraded now with all these aussies complaining that $829 isnt $299. get your facts straight retards. anyway im happy about these prices cause they are exactly the price range the iphone is worth if not less.
Err, chomby1991, you might wish to factor in a certain GST to your calculations. (That's 10% "Goods and Services Tax" on pretty much everything, for those living elsewhere...). While it still leaves the AU price ahead of the US at least things start to look more equitable.